Domain expiry
Quick winFound on 17% of audited stores.
Log in to your domain registrar, confirm your domain's expiry date, and enable auto-renew so your store never goes offline due to an expired domain.
What it is
Every domain name has an expiry date — the date by which you must pay to keep ownership of it. Your registrar (the company where you bought or transferred your domain, e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains/Squarespace Domains, Cloudflare Registrar) stores this date in a public database called WHOIS. When a scanner cannot read the expiry date from the WHOIS record, it flags the domain as at risk because it cannot confirm the domain is safely renewed. This can happen because the registrar uses WHOIS privacy protection, because the registrar's WHOIS server is temporarily unavailable, or — most dangerously — because the domain was registered through a proxy or reseller that does not publish standard records. Regardless of the reason, the action is the same: check the expiry date directly in your registrar's dashboard and enable auto-renew.
Why it matters
If your domain expires, your entire store disappears from the internet — the website goes down, email stops working, and every link to your store breaks. Google treats a domain that goes dark as a strong negative signal, and recovering lost rankings after a domain lapse can take months. Worse, expired domains are routinely snapped up by domain squatters or competitors within days of expiry, meaning you could permanently lose the name your brand is built on. Enabling auto-renew costs nothing extra and eliminates this risk entirely — it is one of the highest-ROI actions any store owner can take.
How to fix it
- Log in to the registrar where your domain is registered (the company you paid when you first bought the domain, or where it was later transferred).
- Locate the domain in your dashboard and find the listed expiry/renewal date — if it is within 60 days, renew it manually right now.
- Enable auto-renew on the domain so it renews automatically each year without any manual action required.
- Ensure the payment method on file at your registrar is valid and not expiring before the next renewal date.
- Verify that renewal reminder emails from your registrar are not going to spam — whitelist the registrar's sending domain.
- If WHOIS privacy is enabled and you want scanners to see the expiry date, check your registrar's settings — most privacy services still publish the expiry date even when they hide personal contact details; if not, this is cosmetic and the important thing is that auto-renew is active.
Fix it on your platform
Pick your platform for the exact steps.
How to fix domain expiry on Shopify
- If your domain was purchased through Shopify: go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Domains. Click the domain, then click 'Manage' next to it. You will see the expiry date and a toggle for auto-renew — turn it ON.
- If your domain was purchased elsewhere and only connected to Shopify: log in to your external registrar directly (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap) and manage auto-renew there. Shopify only manages domains it sold.
- To confirm which registrar owns the domain, go to Settings → Domains and look at the domain row — Shopify-managed domains show a 'Purchased' badge; third-party domains show 'Connected'.
How to fix domain expiry on Shopify Plus
- Same as Shopify: Admin → Settings → Domains. For enterprise stores the domain is almost always registered externally — log in to your registrar (often managed by an agency or IT team) and confirm auto-renew is active.
- Check with your account team or IT department to confirm who the registrar is, since Plus stores commonly transfer DNS to Cloudflare or another provider — the DNS host and the registrar are different things; auto-renew must be set at the registrar.
How to fix domain expiry on WooCommerce
- WooCommerce itself does not manage domains — your domain was registered separately (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, your web host).
- Log in to your registrar or hosting control panel (cPanel/Plesk), find the domain, and enable auto-renew.
- If your domain was included free with a hosting plan (e.g. Bluehost, SiteGround), log in to the hosting account dashboard → Domains section → find the domain → toggle auto-renew ON and verify a valid payment method is saved.
How to fix domain expiry on BigCommerce
- BigCommerce does not register domains — the domain was purchased through a separate registrar.
- Log in to your registrar (e.g. GoDaddy, Google Domains, Namecheap) directly. Find the domain and enable auto-renew.
- In BigCommerce Admin → Storefront → Domains you can see which domain is connected, but renewal must be managed at the registrar.
How to fix domain expiry on Wix
- For domains purchased through Wix: go to Wix Dashboard → Domains (left sidebar). Click the three-dot menu next to the domain → 'Manage Domain'. Under 'Domain Settings' toggle 'Auto-Renew' to ON.
- Check that your billing details in Wix are up to date: Dashboard → Billing & Payments → Payment Methods.
- For domains connected from an external registrar: log in to that registrar and manage auto-renew there.
How to fix domain expiry on Squarespace
- For domains purchased through Squarespace: go to the Squarespace Dashboard → Domains. Click the domain → 'Domain Settings'. Scroll to 'Auto-Renew' and make sure it is toggled ON.
- Confirm the billing card linked to your Squarespace account is valid: Account Menu → Billing → Payment Methods.
- For externally registered domains pointed to Squarespace: manage auto-renew at your registrar (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap).
How to fix domain expiry on Webflow
- For domains purchased through Webflow: go to Webflow Dashboard → select your project → Publishing → Custom Domains. Click the gear icon next to the domain. Webflow renews these automatically; verify the payment method under Account Settings → Billing.
- For externally registered domains: log in to your registrar directly. Webflow's domain panel will show the domain as 'Connected' but cannot manage the renewal — you must do it at the registrar.
How to fix domain expiry on Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- Adobe Commerce does not manage domain registration — the domain was registered through a separate registrar or via your hosting/infrastructure provider.
- Log in to your registrar (often managed by your agency, DevOps team, or infrastructure provider). Find the domain and confirm auto-renew is enabled.
- If you use Cloudflare in front of your Magento store, remember that Cloudflare can act as a registrar — check both your original registrar AND Cloudflare Registrar (dash.cloudflare.com → Domain Registration) to confirm where the authoritative registration lives.
How to fix domain expiry on Magento Open Source
- Same as Adobe Commerce — Magento Open Source has no domain management feature. Log in to your registrar or hosting control panel and enable auto-renew on the domain.
- Contact your hosting provider (e.g. Nexcess, Cloudways, SiteGround) if you are unsure who registered the domain — they can tell you the registrar.
How to fix domain expiry on Headless / Custom (I build in code)
- Log in to your registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare Registrar, AWS Route 53, Google Domains/Squarespace Domains, etc.) and locate the domain.
- Enable auto-renew and confirm the payment method is current.
- If you manage DNS separately (e.g. Cloudflare DNS but registered elsewhere), remember that auto-renew must be set at the registrar — not the DNS provider.
- Consider setting a calendar reminder 90 days before expiry as a backup to auto-renew failures.
How to fix domain expiry on GoDaddy Website Builder
- Log in to GoDaddy → My Products → Domains. Find the domain and click 'Manage'.
- On the domain detail page, scroll to the 'Auto-Renew' section and toggle it ON.
- Go to Account → Payment Methods and confirm your card or payment method is valid.
How to fix domain expiry on Wix eCommerce
- Same as Wix: Dashboard → Domains → three-dot menu next to domain → Manage Domain → Auto-Renew ON.
- Confirm billing details at Dashboard → Billing & Payments.
How to fix domain expiry on Squarespace Commerce
- Same as Squarespace: Dashboard → Domains → click domain → Domain Settings → Auto-Renew ON.
- Verify payment method at Account Menu → Billing → Payment Methods.
How to fix domain expiry on Webflow Commerce
- Same as Webflow: Dashboard → project → Publishing → Custom Domains → gear icon. Confirm payment method at Account Settings → Billing.
How to fix domain expiry on PrestaShop
- PrestaShop does not manage domain registration. Log in to your hosting provider's control panel (cPanel, Plesk) or your registrar directly and enable auto-renew on the domain.
How to fix domain expiry on OpenCart
- OpenCart does not manage domain registration. Log in to your registrar or hosting control panel and enable auto-renew on the domain.
How to fix domain expiry on BigCommerce for WP
- Domain is managed at your external registrar, not in WordPress or BigCommerce. Log in to your registrar and enable auto-renew.
How to fix domain expiry on WordPress.org
- WordPress.org (self-hosted) does not manage domain registration. Log in to the registrar where you bought the domain (or ask your hosting provider if the domain was included with hosting) and enable auto-renew.
How to fix domain expiry on WordPress.com
- For domains purchased through WordPress.com: go to My Site → Upgrades → Domains. Click the domain → 'Manage Domain'. Under 'Settings' confirm 'Auto-Renew' is ON.
- Update payment details at My Site → Upgrades → Billing History → Payment Methods.
How to fix domain expiry on Etsy
- Etsy shops use yourname.etsy.com by default, which Etsy manages. If you use a custom domain with a Pattern by Etsy site, that domain was purchased externally — log in to that registrar and enable auto-renew.
How to fix domain expiry on Kajabi
- For domains purchased through Kajabi: go to Settings → Domains → click the domain → ensure auto-renew is active and billing is current.
- For externally registered domains connected to Kajabi: log in to your registrar and enable auto-renew there.
How to fix domain expiry on Wix Studio
- Same domain management location as Wix: account avatar → Domains for Wix-registered domains.
- For client sites managed in Wix Studio, check each site's domain settings individually under the site dashboard → Domain.
Does your site have this issue?
Run a free SEOLZ scan to find domain expiry — and every other issue — across your whole site in minutes.
Scan my site freeFrequently asked questions
What is Domain expiry?
Every domain name has an expiry date — the date by which you must pay to keep ownership of it. Your registrar (the company where you bought or transferred your domain, e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains/Squarespace Domains, Cloudflare Registrar) stores this date in a public database called WHOIS. When a scanner cannot read the expiry date from the WHOIS record, it flags the domain as at risk because it cannot confirm the domain is safely renewed. This can happen because the registrar uses WHOIS privacy protection, because the registrar's WHOIS server is temporarily unavailable, or — most dangerously — because the domain was registered through a proxy or reseller that does not publish standard records. Regardless of the reason, the action is the same: check the expiry date directly in your registrar's dashboard and enable auto-renew.
Why does domain expiry matter?
If your domain expires, your entire store disappears from the internet — the website goes down, email stops working, and every link to your store breaks. Google treats a domain that goes dark as a strong negative signal, and recovering lost rankings after a domain lapse can take months. Worse, expired domains are routinely snapped up by domain squatters or competitors within days of expiry, meaning you could permanently lose the name your brand is built on. Enabling auto-renew costs nothing extra and eliminates this risk entirely — it is one of the highest-ROI actions any store owner can take.
How do I fix domain expiry?
Log in to your domain registrar, confirm your domain's expiry date, and enable auto-renew so your store never goes offline due to an expired domain.